Many of this site's behavioral enhancements will only function in a modern browser that supports the Document Object Model and JavaScript. However the site will still be usable with most user agents that do not support the DOM/JavaScript (or have support turned off). For a more enjoyable experience we recommend you use a modern browser like Firefox.

When the Americans rebelled in 1775, Lord Dunsmore, the last British Governor of Virginia, called all loyal men – including Black slaves – to fight for the King. The Black recruits, who formed the Ethiopian Regiment, fought bravely in the early months of the American Revolution.

During the American Revolution, one man was especially feared by the rebels. He was Colonel Tye, leader of the ferocious Black Brigade. He earned the rank of “colonel” not from the British, but from the men who fought beside him in an elite commando force.

Tye was among the 800 Blacks who responded to the Governor of Virginia’s call to arms in 1775. The last thing Lord Dunsmore wanted, he said, was to declare war. But with American rebels firing on British ships, he had no choice. In a startling innovation, he included “Negroes” in his appeal for men. Dunsmore formed the Blacks into their own company, trained them and gave them uniforms embroidered with the words, “Freedom to Slaves.” On December 10, 1775, the former slaves marched to war. Tragically, within weeks, battle and disease had reduced them to just 300 men. Colonel Tye survived to 1780, when he too died of his wounds.

The British promised slaves their freedom in return for loyalty. Some slaves joined the army. Others fled to British-held cities, such as New York, where they supported the cause as civilians until the final defeat of the British. In 1 Read More

During the American Revolution, one man was especially feared by the rebels. He was Colonel Tye, leader of the ferocious Black Brigade. He earned the rank of “colonel” not from the British, but from the men who fought beside him in an elite commando force.

Tye was among the 800 Blacks who responded to the Governor of Virginia’s call to arms in 1775. The last thing Lord Dunsmore wanted, he said, was to declare war. But with American rebels firing on British ships, he had no choice. In a startling innovation, he included “Negroes” in his appeal for men. Dunsmore formed the Blacks into their own company, trained them and gave them uniforms embroidered with the words, “Freedom to Slaves.” On December 10, 1775, the former slaves marched to war. Tragically, within weeks, battle and disease had reduced them to just 300 men. Colonel Tye survived to 1780, when he too died of his wounds.

The British promised slaves their freedom in return for loyalty. Some slaves joined the army. Others fled to British-held cities, such as New York, where they supported the cause as civilians until the final defeat of the British. In 1783, as some 30,000 Loyalist refugees trailed wearily north, 3,550 former slaves went with them. These new arrivals formed the first free Black community in Canada.

Some 3,550 Black Loyalists – those who fought for or supported Britain during the American Revolution – came to the Nova Scotia as free men and women in 1783 and took up small parcels of land. After the War of 1812, another small influx of freed Blacks arrived from the United States.

Canada was not the happy ending the Loyalist immigrants wanted. More than 2,000 Black Loyalists came to southeastern Nova Scotia and started to build a town, which they called Birchtown. Hardly had they begun, however, than a mob of violent white men arrived on a drunken spree, knocked down their shelters and beat an elderly preacher within an inch of his life. The violence continued for ten days and left Birchtown in ruins.

The problem was work. In 1783, when the Black Loyalists landed at Roseway Harbour, they were given land a few miles from the Loyalist town at Shelburne. Winter was coming on. The settlers worked frantically to build log shanties. Some literally dug holes in the ground and covered them with trees and moss to create shelters. They were hungry and cold. The British had promised food, but with 30,000 white Loyalists at the head of the list, there was not enough to go around. Grants to white settlers also nibbled away at the land given to Black Loyalists.

Still, the Black settlers were optimistic. Many were artisans, skilled in carpentry, barrel-making, iron work and other trades. They were willing to labour for low wages and, when they w Read More

Canada was not the happy ending the Loyalist immigrants wanted. More than 2,000 Black Loyalists came to southeastern Nova Scotia and started to build a town, which they called Birchtown. Hardly had they begun, however, than a mob of violent white men arrived on a drunken spree, knocked down their shelters and beat an elderly preacher within an inch of his life. The violence continued for ten days and left Birchtown in ruins.

The problem was work. In 1783, when the Black Loyalists landed at Roseway Harbour, they were given land a few miles from the Loyalist town at Shelburne. Winter was coming on. The settlers worked frantically to build log shanties. Some literally dug holes in the ground and covered them with trees and moss to create shelters. They were hungry and cold. The British had promised food, but with 30,000 white Loyalists at the head of the list, there was not enough to go around. Grants to white settlers also nibbled away at the land given to Black Loyalists.

Still, the Black settlers were optimistic. Many were artisans, skilled in carpentry, barrel-making, iron work and other trades. They were willing to labour for low wages and, when they went to Shelburne, they found work. White workers couldn’t compete and turned to violence. In fact, there was little money in Shelburne. All the Loyalists were poor, and people gradually drifted away. Without land, food or work, some Blacks actually sold themselves back into slavery to survive.

There was little room -- economic or social -- for freed slaves in Europe and North America, and most of the free Blacks lived in poverty. In Britain, some well-meaning abolitionists came up with a plan to return former slaves to Africa. They called their enterprise the Sierra Leone Company, and they advertised widely for settlers.

The year was 1790. Thomas Peters of Birchtown stood on the deck of a ship and watched the coast of Nova Scotia disappear in the distance. He had a mission. Peters was on his way to England with orders to contact the directors of the Sierra Leone Company and say to them: “The Black people of Nova Scotia want to go home.”

Somewhere in their blood, their music and in a dozen half-forgotten languages, American slaves – even illiterate, third- or fourth-generation slaves – had always remembered Africa. They had heard about a group of well-meaning British abolitionists – the Sierra Leone Company – that had set up a colony for former slaves on the coast of Africa. They did not know how troubled that colony was, plagued by the resentment of local peoples, bullied by the company and situated next door to slave traders who were continuing their inhuman work. To many Canadian Blacks, Africa seemed to offer a possible future.

Peters came back from England with an invitation, but the Black community of Nova Scotia split on whether to accept it or not. In the end, a third of them decided to leave Canada. In 1791, 1,196 former slaves &ndas Read More

The year was 1790. Thomas Peters of Birchtown stood on the deck of a ship and watched the coast of Nova Scotia disappear in the distance. He had a mission. Peters was on his way to England with orders to contact the directors of the Sierra Leone Company and say to them: “The Black people of Nova Scotia want to go home.”

Somewhere in their blood, their music and in a dozen half-forgotten languages, American slaves – even illiterate, third- or fourth-generation slaves – had always remembered Africa. They had heard about a group of well-meaning British abolitionists – the Sierra Leone Company – that had set up a colony for former slaves on the coast of Africa. They did not know how troubled that colony was, plagued by the resentment of local peoples, bullied by the company and situated next door to slave traders who were continuing their inhuman work. To many Canadian Blacks, Africa seemed to offer a possible future.

Peters came back from England with an invitation, but the Black community of Nova Scotia split on whether to accept it or not. In the end, a third of them decided to leave Canada. In 1791, 1,196 former slaves – around half from Birchtown – set sail from Halifax. Sadly, that group included most of Birchtown’s leaders, and the settlement was much weakened as a result. As for the African colonists, once again there was no happy ending.